Package and method of forming the same



Feb. 24, 1959 w. A. RINGLER PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE sAME 4 SheetsSheet 1 Filed Nov. 7, 1955 FIGI.

INVENTO RI WILLIAM A. RING LER ATTYs.

Feb. 24, 1959 w. A. RINGLER 2,874,524

PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME Filed NOV. 7, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 \i 44 FIGS. Flees. j N

INVENTOR: WILLIAM A. R INGLER ATTYS.

Feb. 24, 1959 w. A. RINGLER PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME Filed Nov.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 '7. 1955 FIG! I.

FIG.|3.

INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. RINGLER W4WV ATTYS. w

Feb. 24, 1959 WA RINGLER PACKAGE AND METHOD OF- FORMING THE SAME Filed Nov. 7, 1955 INVENTORY WILLIAM A. RINGLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4' ATTYS,

United States Patent'G PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME William A. Ringler, Wayne, Pa., assignor, by mesne assagnments, to Diamond Gardner Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application November 7, 1955, Serial No. 545,274

4 Claims. or. 53-29 The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in cigarette packages and more particularly to new and useful improvements in cigarette packages which are formed of stiff paper board or. the like and have a reclosable top or cover and which may be manufactured on standard cigarette packing machines used to produce the conventional cigarette package.

Prior to the present invention, packages of this type formed of stiff paper board. or the like and having a reclosable top or cover could not be manufactured on standard cigarette packaging machines in common use by cigarette manufacturers throughout the United States. In order for a cigarette manufacturer to use a package of this type, it was necessary for the manufacturer to purchase a different type of cigarette packing machine, and

the expense of new machines made it impracticable forthe manufacturer to switchfrom the conventional cigarette packing to a package of this type.

With the foregoing in mind, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a-novel cigarette package of the type set forth which may be formed on standard cigarette packing machines presently in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel cigarette package formed of paper board or the like and having a-reclosable top or cover.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel cigarette package formed from a single blank of sheet material wherein there is a minimum of waste when cutting the carton blanks from a sheet of material.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel cigarette package of the typeset forth including inner and outer panel sections formed from a single blank which may be easily folded into assembled position, and which provides a sturdy cigarette package resistant to deformation.

Another .object of the present invention is to provide a novel cigarette package or the like of the type set forth having novel end closures wherein the paper board is prevented from contacting the contents of the package.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel cigarette package having the features and characteristics set forth which is of relatively simplified construction and which may be manufactured easily and cheaply on the standard cigarette packing machines in common use throughout theUnited States. 7

These and other objects of the present invention and the various features and details of the operation and construction thereof are hereinafter more fully set forth and described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the cigarette package of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cigarette package of Fig. l with the top of the package opened;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the blank from which the cigarette package of Fig. l is formed;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the blank with the inner panel members folded over the outer panel member prior to inserting the blank into a cigarette packing machine; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the blank in its initial position relative to the forming and loading arbor of a top of the package partially closed;

Fig. 9 is aperspective view similar to Fig. 8 showing a further step in the formation of the closed top of the package;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the arbor and package,

illustrating the cigarettes being inserted through the arbor into the cigarette package;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view, illustrating the cigarette package after removal from the arbor; Fig. 12 is a perspective view, showing the bottom of I the package in a partially closed position;

form of package of the present invention;

Fig. 18 is aperspective view of the blank of Fig. 17-

with the inner wall panels folded inwardly over the outer wall panels;

Fig. 19 is a perspective view of the blank of Fig. 17 positioned about an arbor prior to completion of the formation of the package;

Fig. 20 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 19 with the top of the package partially closed;

Fig. 21 is a fragmentary perspective view of a completed cigarette package made from the blank illustrated in Fig. 17; and

Fig. 22 is a perspective view of the package of Fig. 21 with the top of the package opened.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a package 1.0 formed according to the present invention and comprising a generally rectangular bottom portion 11 and a reclosable top portion 12 hingedly connected at the rearof the package to the bottom portion. An inner package member 13 extends upwardly fro-m the bottom portion of the package, and the reclosable top 12 of the package fits over the inner package member into engagement with the upper edges of the bottom portion of the package. The package contains a plurality of cigarettes or similar articles wrapped in foil, as indicated at 14.

With reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings, the package of the present invention is made from a blank 15 formed as shown and comprising outer front and rear panels 16 and 17, respectively, and outer side panels 18 and 19. The outer front, rear and side panels are connected together along fold lines 21, 22 and 23 and are formed integrally with one another. In addition, inner front and rear panels 24 and 25, respectively, along with inner side wall panels 26 and 27 are formed integrally with the blank and connected together along fold lines 28, 29 and 30. The inner rear wall panel 25 is secured to' one edge of the outer rear panel 17 along a fold line 31, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The width of the inner box panels 24, 25, 26 and 27 is such that when the inner panels are folded over upon the fold line 31 into superposition with the outer box panels, the top of the inner rear panel is spaced below the top of the outer rear wall panel 16 and the top of the inner side wall panels 26 and 2 7 terminate adjacent thetop of the outer side wall panels 18 and 19, respectively. The top of the side portions of the inner front wall panel 24 correspond with the top of the outer front wall panel while the central portion of the inner front wall panel terminates beneath the central portion of the top of the outer front wall panel, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

The front and side panels are slit along a continuous line 32 transversely of the outer front panel 16 and an-' gularly upward on lines 32a, 32a as indicated, across the outer side panels 18 and 19. This provides upper portions 33 and 34 on the outer front and side panels, respectively, which are separated from" the remainder of these panels. A transverse score line 35 extends across the outer rear panel 17mm the: end of the angular cut 32 and anothef score line 36 extends across a glue flap 37 connected to the outer side panel 18 along a fold lin'e38.

Suitable top end flaps 41, 42, 43 and 44 are integrally connected to theouter front rear and side panels, respectively, along a fold line 45 and are separated from each other by cuts indicated by solid lines in Figs. 3 and 4. Another fold line 46 extends across the bottom of the blank at the lower end of the panels 16, 17, 18 and 19, providing an integral hinge connection for bottom end flaps 47, 48, 49 and 50 extending outwardly from the outer front rear and side panels, respectively. The end flaps 48, 49 and50 are cut away as indicated in Figs. 3-and 4 for ptirposes more fully described hereinf after.

In accordance with the present invention, the cigarette package is formed about an arbor 55 in a standard cigarette packing machine, such as for example, the Ameri can Machine and Foundry Company Standard Cigarette Immediately after this, the outer rear section 17 of the blank is folded inwardly along the rear face of the arbor into engagement with the adhesive on the glue flap 37 to secure the carton in a rectangular position about the arbor 55. The upper end of the package is then closed and sealed in the conventional manner by folding the side end closure flaps 43 and 44 inwardly, folding the end closure fiap 42 inwardly over the side end closure fiaps 43 and 44, and folding the end closure flap 41 downwardly into engagement with the flap 42. These fiaps are. maintained in this position by means of adhesive material.

After the upper end of the package is closed, a plurality Of'cigartzttes 61 or similar articles adapted to be contained within the package are forced upwardly through the arbor 55 by means of a mandrel 62 and the mandrel 62 continues its upward movement forcing the cigarette 61 into engagement with the upper closed end of the Packer, AMF 3-79. The arbor 55 is similar to the conventional arbor found in standard cigarette packers and comprises an upper hollow rectangular portion 56 and anenlarged base portion 57 having an opening (not shown) extending therethrough'co-extensive with the opening in the hollow upper portion 56.

Prior to inserting the blanks 15 of the present invention into the standard cigarette package, the inner walls of the blank are folded about the fold line 31 into superposition with the corresponding outer walls of the blank and adhesive is applied to the inner face of the inner rear'wall 25, as indicated at 58 to maintain the inner walls of the blankin superposition relative to the re} spective outer walls, for example as illustrated in Fig. 4ofthedrawings. i

With reference now to Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, of the.

drawings, the initial'step in forming a jcig arette package according to thepresent invention is to position a piece of foil'59 about the arbor 55 and close the upperjend of the foil over the top of the arbor as indicated at 6 0; To close the upper end of the foil, the portions of the foil corresponding to the front and rear faces of the pack age are first folded. inwardly and then the upper portions of the foil which correspond to the side sections of the package are folded inwardly over the frontand rear portions of the foil to complete thefold, asindicated at 60. The blank with the inner walls folded into superposition upon the outer walls is then placed in contact with the arbor in the position illustrated in Fig. 5 with the front face of the blank corresponding to the front face of the arbor; ii i The next step in the formation of the package is to package andremoving the package from the upper portion 56o f the arbor 55. The package isthen in the position illustrated in Big. llwith the lower end of the package open. The foil of the package extends downwardly below the cut-out portions on the bottom end closure tabs 48, 49 and 50, so that when the bottom of the package is closed, the foil extends inwardly a greater distance than the tabs 48, 49v and to thereby prevent the paper board of the package from engaging the articles contained I in the package.

To close the bottom of the package, the bottom side end closure tabs 49 and 50 are first folded inwardly along withthe corresponding portions of the foil 59 to the position as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 of the draw ings. The rear bottom end closure tab 48 having the cutout portion thereon is thereafter folded inwardly along with its corresponding section of foil to the position shown in Fig. 14 of the drawings and the front bottom 'end closure tab 47, is thereafter folded inwardly to co'rnplete the closure of the bottom section of the package. Adhesive material, such as glue, applied to the.

bottom end closure flaps of the package maintains the bottom" of the package closed.

"As illustrated in Fig. 16, the blanks 15 are particularly suitable for being cut from a continuous sheet of paper board or the like as the blanks may be cut from a con-v tinuous sheet of paper board with the inner wall panels of adjacent blanks extending outwardly from the blanks atopposite sides thereof, so that there is a minimum amount of waste when cutting the blanks of the present invention.

Figs. 17 to 22, inclusive, of the drawings illustrate av modified form of the package designated generally as which is formed of s'tifi? paper board or the likeand may be manufactured on a standard cigarette packing machine. The package 65 is generally rectangular in shape and has a cover portion 66 hingedly connected to the top of the package which is adapted to fit over one upper cornerof the'package, as illustrated in Figs. 21 and 22. An inner package member 67 surrounds the contents of thepackagewhen the top cover member 66 is opened.

With reference to Fig. 17, the package 65. is made from a blank 71) formed as shownin Figs. 17 and 18 and comprising outer frontandrear panels 71 and 72, respective: ly, and outer side panels 73 and 74, respectively. The outer front, rear and side panels are connected together along fold lines 75, 76 and 77, and are formed integrally with one another. In addition inner side panels 78.and

79, along with an inner front wall panel 80 are formed integrally with the blank and connected together along fold lines81 and 82. The inner side wall panel 78 is connected alonga fold line 83 to the outer side wallpanel73. A glue flap 84 is secured to the outer edge of the rear wall panel72 along a fold line 85.

The top portions of the inner side wall panels 78 and 79. are ec-extensive with the tops of the outer. side wall P 29 5; fitltl; 7 4 r h nth ninner panels are. folded. in:

e at s wardly along the fold line 83 to asuperimposed position on the outer'wall panels, as illustrated in Fig. 18. At the same time, the upper portion of the inner front wall panel 80 is cut away, as indicated at 86 relative to the top portion of the outer front wall panel 71 to permit easy access to the contents of the package when the top cover 66 is opened.

Top closure elements 87, 88, 89 and 90 are integrally secured to the panels 71, 73, 74 and 72, respectively, along a fold line 91; and bottom closure panels 92, 93, 94 and 95, respectively, are secured to the same outer wall panels at the bottom portion thereof along a fold line 96. The front and side wall panels are slit along a continuous line 97 transversely of the outer front wall panel 71 and along lines 98, 98 cut on the bias across the upper front corners of the side Wall panels 73 and 74. Fold lines 99, 99 extend transversely across the top end closure flaps 88 and 89 from a position adjacent the ends of the cuts 98, 98.

To form a package from the blank illustrated in Fig. 17, the inner wall panels are first folded inwardly in superimposed relation on the outer wall panels along the fold line 83 and are maintained in superimposed relation by means of a strip of adhesive 101 extending longitudinally of the inner side wall panel 78. A piece of foil 59 is positioned about an arbor 55 as previously described and the blank 70 is folded about the arbor over the foil 59 with the side wall panels 73 and 78 engaging the glue flap 84. The top of the package is then completed by first folding the top end closure flaps 87 and 90 downwardly and then folding the top end closure flaps 88 and 89 downwardly and glueing the same in place. The bottom end closure flaps 92, 93, 94 and 95 are similar to the bottom end closure flaps 49, 48, 47 and 50, respectively, of the blank 15 and the bottom of the package is closed in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the formation of the package 10. This completes the formation of the package 65, as illustrated in Fig. 21 of the drawings.

The packages and 65 may then be removed from the standard cigarette packing machine in the conventional manner to a further wrapping station wherein the revenue stamps and the cellophane are applied to the package.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a novel cigarette package which may he formed on the standard cigarette packing machines presently in use and which is formed of paper board or the like having a reclosable top or cover. In addition, it is apparent that the present invention provides a novel cigarette package formed from a single blank of sheet material wherein there is a minimum amount of Waste when cutting the package blanks and which provide a sturdy cigarette package resistant to deformation.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit theinvention to such a disclosure and changes and modifications may be incorporated and embodied therein within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A method of forming a relatively stiff paperboard carton having a reclosable lid which comprises the steps of providing a blank of paperboard scored to define outer front, rear and side panels and a plurality of independent topand bottom flaps for forming top and bottom walls and including parts of said outer front and side panels separable from the remainder thereof to provide lid parts, said blank also having inner front and side panels integrally connected to said outer panels and arranged for folding into face to face relation with said outer panels and lid parts, folding said inner panels into superposition upon said outer panels with portions of the inner panels extending across the separation defining said lid parts, providing a mandrel about which the carton is to be formed, positioning said blank in confronting relation with one face of said mandrel with said inner panels between said mandrel and said outer panels, folding the blank about said mandrel into open tubular form to enclose the inner panels 2. The method of forming a relatively stiff paperboard carton having a reclosable lid which comprises the steps of providing a blank having fold lines defining outer front, rear, and side panels and a glue flap integrally connected to one of said side panels and a plurality of independent top and bottom flaps on said outer panels for forming top and bottom walls and including parts of said outer front and side panels separable from the remainder thereof to provide lid parts, said blank also having inner front and side panels integrally connected to an edge of one of said outer panels and arranged for folding into face to face relation with said outer panels and lid parts, folding said inner panels into superposition upon said outer panels along said integral connection, portions of said inner panels extending across the separation defining said lid parts, providing a mandrel about which the carton is to be formed, positioning said blank in confronting relation with one face of said mandrel with said inner front panel in contact with said mandrel, folding said inner and outer side panels together substantially at right angles to said front panels along the sides of said mandrel to enclose the inner panels as a liner within the carton extending into the lid forming parts thereof, folding said glue flap at right angles to the outer side panel connected thereto against the side of said mandrel opposite from said front panels, folding said rear panel into position over said glue flap and securing said rear panel to said glue flap, form ing one end wall on said carton by folding the flaps at said one end of said carton and securing them to provide a wall across said one end of said carton, and removing the carton from the mandrel.

3. The method of forming and loading a carton which comprises the steps of providing a hollow mandrel about which the carton is to be formed, folding a sheet of foil around the mandrel and across one open end thereof, providing a blank of relatively stiff material having scored fold lines therein defining outer front, rear and side panels and a plurality of independent top and bottom flaps for forming top and bottom walls and including parts of said outer front and side panels separable from the remainder thereof to provide lid parts, said blank also having inner front and side panels connected to said outer panels and arranged for folding into face to face relation with said outer panels and lid parts, positioning said blank in confronting relation with said mandrel with said inner panels between said foil and said outer panels, folding the blank about said mandrel into open tubular form and securing the blank in that form to enclose the inner panels as a liner within the carton extending into the lid forming parts thereof, folding the flaps on said carton across said one end of said mandrel, moving articles to be packaged upwardly through the hollow mandrel into engagement with said foil and said flaps at one end of said mandrel and continuing to move said articles to push the foil and carton off of said mandrel with said articles enclosed in said foil, and folding the carton flaps and the foil inwardly over the remaining open end of said carton to close the same.

4. The method of forming and loading a carton about a hollow mandrel having exterior dimensions corresponding to the interior dimensions of the carton which comprises the steps of forming a carton blank of relatively stiff material having scored fold lines therein defining outer front, rear and side panels and a plurality of independent top and bottom flaps for forming top and bottom walls and including parts of said outer front and side panels separable from the remainder thereof to provide parts of a reclosable lid, said blank also having a' glue flap extending'from one of said side panels and'inner front and inner panels into superposition on said outer panels, positioning said blankin confronting'relation with one face of said mandrel with said inner panelsin contact With said mandrel, folding said'side and rear panels and said glue flap about said mandrel and securing said glue flap to said rear panel to retain the blank in open tubular form to enclose the inner panels within the carton extending into thelid, folding the flaps on one end of said carton across an open end of said mandrel and securing said flaps together to form an end'wall, moving articles to'be packaged through the hollow mandrel into engagement with said end wall and continuing to move said articles to push thecarton off of said mandrel with the articles enclosed therein; and folding the flaps at the other end of said carton inwardly and securing said flaps to form a wall over theremaining open end of' said carton;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 887,729 Kirmse May 12, 1908 1,110,125 Giroud Sept. 8, 1914 1,639,283 Bergstein Aug. 16, 1927 1,792,203 Wakefield Feb. 10, 1931 1,926,192 Bronander Sept. 12, 1933 2,330,466 Bergstein Sept. 28, 1943 2,589,045 Brooks Mar. 11, 1952' 2,672,273 Smith Mar. 16, 1954 

